Atletico chasing Arturo Vidal – is it a fantasy?

Do Atleti have a realistic chance of bagging the Chilean star?

The tenacious Chilean Arturo Vidal is one of the most sought after players this summer transfer window, and has been linked to Atletico Madrid amongst many others. But what are our chances of landing him?

He has been a lynchpin in the Juventus squad that has won three consecutive league titles and also of the Chile squad that did admirably in the World Cup, beating Spain along the way.

His stock has risen and as a result, Europe’s elite have made their interest known.

Clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern Munich have all made approaches for the midfielder and with such competition, it damages Atleti’s chances on securing his signature

The financial power of these clubs is a factor in negotiations that many Atletico fans have to accept and is still a large obstacle the club faces in order to become a dominant force in Spain and Europe.

With Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos move to Real Madrid becoming more and more likely, the Bavarian club is sure to pull out all the stops to sign Vidal.

The player himself has stated his desire to move to Man Utd ahead of any other Premier League clubs, and with Louis Van Gaal’s budget, the bidding war may sky rocket.

Atleti face stiff competition from some of Europe’s richest – read their views

Even if Atleti were to acquire Vidal’s services, would he fit? There is no doubt he is among the best midfielders in the world, scoring 18 goals and racking up 5 assists in the previous campaign for Juve.

His resilience and doggedness is similar to the mentality that Simeone has instilled into his squad and his attitude wouldn’t need adjusting.

In many ways he resembles the playing style of our Argentine coach as they both share a hunger for success – and with a sum total 12 yellow cards last season the resemblance grows stronger.

Despite this, Atletico Madrid are not short of central midfielders and with the renewals of players such as Gabi it is hard to imagine him walking into the first team.

Mario Suarez, Koke and Guilavogui may all have something to say about that and for Vidal’s price tag it would be ludicrous to have him sitting on the bench.

The signing of Vidal seems more a dream than a realistic possibility at this stage and with prospective bids starting at £48m the dream is unlikely to come to fruition.

With the plethora of clubs after him he is most likely to hold out for an offer which financially wouldn’t be possible for Atleti. Although, the authority of Simeone mustn’t be ruled out.

As they do share similarities, Rojiblancos everywhere will hope that our coach and cult hero may be able to convince the Chilean to don the red and white of Atletico de Madrid next season.

Do you think Atleti have a realistic chance, or should we give up hope and focus on more realistic targets?

TOMMYNESTOR7

i think he is to expensive to us… i dont think we can afford at least 50m euros for him…
i belive that Saul should get minutes this year ahead of Mario, he is our wunderkind and he must play to fullfill his potential…
And am I the only one who wish we sign Mandzukic ahead off Negredo? he is cheaper then Negredo and for me a better player, a real fighter just like Simeone wants and we all want a warrior and certinely he is a warrior.. And I also prefer Navas ahead Oblak but in other hand he (Oblak) is younger the Keylor, so its his advantage in that prospect.

Ahmad Hossainy

I believe that we not only can’t afford his price and his salary, but also we are not interested in him
I believe that it’s a 100 % rumor with 0 % credibility

The real news is that Simeone wants to finish his (shopping) in transfer market this week,
and we only need 3 or 4 players in 3 positions, and Vidal’s position is not one of them
we need a GK, 1 or 2 strikers and a playmaker
and those 3 names look very close (and even some of them are done deals according to many reports) :
Oblak, Mandzukic & Gaitan

Ringo ST Gambo

Gaitan would be an excellent buy, if not too expensive.
A loanee as playmaker might be good, too, since Oliver will be back in a year, hopefully up for the game.
Koke, Saul, Mario, Gabi, Guilavogui seem like enough options in the center for me.
With the departure of Villa and Costa, at least one striker would be necessary.
Perhaps a winger is useful as well, though, since Cebolla is probably leaving and it would probably give the team more variety and pace.